2nd Circ. Backs Starbucks In $1B Kraft Contract Row

Law360, New York (February 25, 2011, 6:05 PM EST) -- The Second Circuit on Friday denied Kraft Foods Inc.’s bid to hold on to a $1 billion contract giving it the exclusive right to distribute Starbucks Corp. products to grocery stores, allowing for the long-standing arrangement to end March 1.

A three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order affirming a lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction that would have barred Starbucks from dropping the agreement pending the outcome of arbitration proceedings between the companies.